Apparatus for conditioning tobacco



Jan. 20, 1959 APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING TOBACCO Original Filed Feb. 1,1956 L. A. ROWELLV 2,869,556

2 Sheets-Sheer. l

mvmron y %M /v% Mam L A. ROWELL APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING TOBACCOOriginal Filed Feb. 1, 1956 Jan. 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6 Claims.(Cl. 131-135) This invention relates to apparatus for conditioning d t satent tobacco and particularly to the conditioning of tobacco in itscompressed state as it is received at the processing plant.

compressed tobacco in an insulated compartment into which air,conditioned as to temperature and moisture content, is pumped, andwithdrawing the conditioned air from the chamber through the compressedtobacco into a hollow perforated probe which has been pressed downthrough the tobacco, the probe being connected to the inlet side of thefan supplying the conditioned air to the chamber. The multi-stage fanused to circulate the conditioned air maintains a pressure differenceacross the compressed tobacco so that the air within the chamber willreadily flow through the tobacco to the centrally located probe tocondition the tobacco equally through its bulk.

There have been various methods in use for conditioning tobacco whichhave had varying degrees of success. Some have been harmful to thetobacco itself while oth ers involve many steps in the process, are timeconsuming and add a heavy expense. Most of these processes involveopening up the compressed tobacco to allow individual leaves to beconditioned in a suitable atmosphere.

Others call for the playing of a stream of gas on the outer surface ofthe compressed block of tobacco and pealing oil the surface leaves asthey become conditioned. The process being continued until the whole ofthe compressed bulk has been treated. Another form of conditioning hasbeen to insert steam pipes into the compressed tobacco and force thesteam under pressure through the tobacco to the surrounding atmosphere.In this method the steam boiler provides the pressure necessary to forcemoisture vapor through the tobacco. In

consequence, the temperatures of the vapor must be greater than 212 F.Temperatures this high are considered by most manufacturers too high andconsequently harmful to the tobacco. Still another method ofconditioning compressed tobacco is by a vacuum process. The equipmentrequired for this method is very costly as also are the operating costs.

The object of the present invention is therefore to condition thecompressed tobacco by the creation of a pressure differential throughthe tobacco which will allow conditioned air of any desired temperatureto pass through the tobacco and in the process give up its heat andmoisture to the tobacco evenly throughout its compressed bulk.

A further object of the invention is to supply controlled conditionedairto an insulated chamber enclosing the compressed tobacco and to passthat conditioned air through the tobacco for recirculation in a closedsystem.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the endsof the compressed tobacco is kept sealed to prevent short circuiting ofthe conditioned air and to constrain it to flow through the tobacco inlayers The invention consists essentially in setting up the ICC of moreor less equal radii to an axial evacuation probe.

These and other objects will be apparent from the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is aschematic vertical elevation of a typical tobacco conditioningapparatus.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing an air evacuation outlet and meansfor attachment to a probe.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial vertical section showing the upper end ofa probe assembly and showing the method of sealing the top of thecompressed tobacco to prevent short circuiting of conditioned air to theperforated probe.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged outside view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the topsealing cover following the tobacco downwards as it slumps duringconditioning and sealing the'top apertures of the probe which have beenuncovered by the slumped tobacco.

This present application is a division of the applicants copeudingapplication Serial No. 562,887,.filed February 1, 1956.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 show a typical assembly inwhich a chamber 1 is formed of insulated side Walls 2 and top 3. Aninsulated door 4 can be mounted on hinges or be arranged to be liftedvertically in suitable guides. The chamber 1 is insulated to minimizecondensation and to conserve heat and, when in operation is keptcompletely closed except for the vent 5 on the top of the chamber whichallows the chamber to be kept in atmospheric pressure at all times.

The mass of compressed tobacco 6 as taken from bales or hogsheads areset on the wheeled dollys 7 for easy transportation into and out of thechamber 1, the dollys being of a size which will cover most of the baseof the tobacco 6 to prevent air from entering the tobacco from below. Ahollow perforated probe 8 is pressed into the compressed tobacco 6 fromthe top as near the vertical axis of the mass as possible, the probepenetrating to the bottom of the mass as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Theprobe 8 has a flexible annular collar 9 mounted on its upper end andsecured about the probe by the band lit. The flexible collar 9 ispreferably an air tightsleeve securely attached to a flexible cover 11and so arranged that it can extend in length as the tobacco slumpsduring conditioning. The top end is clamped to probe 8. As the bottomend slides down probe 8 it serves to cover the perforations 13 whichotherwise would be exposed to the atmosphere in chamber 1. The flexiblecover 11 covers completely the top of the cylindrical or rectangularpile of compressed tobacco and prevents air from short circuitingthrough the top of the tobacco into the upper perforations 13 of probe8.

The air conditioningand circulating system comprises a multi-stage fan16 driven by the motor 41. The inlet side 17 of the fan 16 is connectedto the suction pipe 18 which is divided into branch pipes 19 to connectwith as many probe coupling units as the chamber 1 is fitted with. Thesecoupling units consist of a flexible tube 20 secured at its upper endand within the chamber 1 to the lower end of the branch pipes 19, withthe pipe 19 and tube 20 being held securely to the top 3 of the chamber1 by the clamp ring 21. The lower end of the tube 26 is secured to thefitting 22 by the ring 23. The fitting 16 and is projectedhorizontallyintothe chamber 1 to form the distribution header 28 havingbranches 29 gdapted to spray conditioned air into the top of the cham- Ahigh pressure steam pipe 30 is projected into the air discharge pipe 27and terminates in a nozzle 31 adapted to spray a jet of steam into theair passing through the pipe 27 to the header 28. Steam requirements aredetermined by the temperature at the bulb 32 situated within the chamber1 adjacent to the discharge branches 29 of the header 28 to control theopening and closing of the valve 33 by the controller 34. The rate oftemperature rise can be adjusted by the valve 35 on the steam line 30between the v'alve 33 and the nozzle 31. 1

A nozzle 36 within the air discharge pipe 27 ahead of the nozzle 31projects a spray of water from the water supply line 37, the spray ofwater being controlled by the valve 38. The water spray from the nozzle36 is atomized by high pressure steam fed from the steam line 30 throughthe pipe 39 and controlled by the valve 4%. Excess condensate in thedistribution header 28 is drained off through the drain pipe 42 into thefloor drain 43.

In the operation of this invention, the hollow perforated probe 8, ofminimum diameter, is first pressed down into the mass of compressedtobacco, the probe being placed as near as possible to the verticalcentre of the mass. The compressed tobacco can be placed on the dolly 7before or after insertion of the probe 8, which ever is most convenient.The flexible cover 11 and sleeve 9 are then fitted over the probe 8, thesleeve 9 being held on the probe by the elastic band while the flexiblecover is spread over the top surface of the tobacco so that only thesides of the mass of tobacco is exposed.

The dolly 7 is now wheeled into the chamber 1 and aligned under thecoupling sleeve 14 and the coupling is fitted over the open end of theprobe 8 and secured thereon by tightening up the screw 26 in the lowerclamp ring 15, the flexible tube adjusting itself to the height of theprobe 8.

The chamber 1 can be made to take any convenient number of compressedtobacco units, the capacity of the chamber being limited only by theproduction level required and the size of the conditioning installationavailable.

When the chamber has been loaded and the installation set in operation,the chamber 1 is filled with air delivered by the fan 16 through thepipe 27 and header 2?, the air being conditioned by means of steam andwater introduced into the air from the nozzles 31 and 36. Normally thequantity of water introduced into the air is suflicient to maintain afog in the chamber 1, denoting slight supersaturation of the air.

The conditioned air, in passing from the chamber 1 and through thetobacco to the probe 8, gives up heat and moisture to the tobacco evenlythroughout the whole volume of the tobacco mass, the air being drawn outof the probe 8 through the pipe 19 to the intake side of the fan 16. Theperforations 13 are distributed over the length of the probe 8 so thatthe air flow through the mass of the tobacco is substantially uniformfrom the top to the bottom of the mass.

The circulation of air through the system is maintained because of thepressure difference across the compressed tobacco, created by themulti-stage fan 16 and is re-circulated in re-conditioned form foraslong as is necessary to thoroughly condition the tobacco.

With the tendency of the tobacco to slump during the conditioningoperation, any tendency for the air to short circuit the tobacco andpass directly through the top perforations 13 of the probe, is preventedby the flexible cover 11 which follows the slumping tobacco to keep thetop surface covered and sealed, so that the air must always pass throughthe tobacco from the sides in horizontal layers in line with theperforations 13 in the probe.

It should be noted that in this invention the circulating air in thesystem is a vehicle for the conveyance of heat and moisture to thetobacco. The only energy which can be lost is the slight amount throughradiation from the machine, condensation in the machine, and a smallamount of leakage at the vent 5. Most of the energy delivered to the fan16 by the motor 41 is transferred to the circulating air in the form ofheat which in turn is absorbed by the tobacco. These facts explain theextremely high thermal efliciency of this machine compared to most othertobacco conditioning machines. Moisture gains of as much as 36 lbs. havebeen obtained with the use of only 25 lbs. of steam. The remaining gainof 11 lbs. being atomized water converted to vapour when mixed with thedry heat from the fan.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for the conditioning of compressed to bacco comprising aninsulated chamber, means to support a block of compressed tobacco withinsaid chamber, a hollow perforated probe insertable in the block oftobacco, an air discharge header, in said chamber, an air outlet fromsaid chamber, a fan connected on its discharge side with said dischargeheader and on its inlet side with said air outlet from the chamber, aflexible cover resting on and sealing a portion of the block of tobacco,said flexible cover being secured to said probe by a flexible sleeveallowing vertical displacement of said flexible cover with respecttosaid probe, a flexible coupling joining the said probe and the airoutlet on said chamber, means to inject steam and water into thedischarge side of said fan to said header to condition the air dischargefrom said header to said chamber, said fan on its inlet side setting upa pressure differential between the said hollow probe and the saidchamber to effect a flow of conditioned air from the chamber through thetobacco in layers between the tobacco support means and said flexiblecover.

2. Apparatus for the conditioning of compressed tobacco comprising aninsulated chamber, means to support a block of compressed tobacco withinsaid chamber, a hollow perforated probe insertable in the block oftobacco, an air discharge header in said chamber, an air outlet fromsaid chamber, a fan connected on its discharge outlet side with saiddischarge header and on its inlet side with said air outlet from thechamber, a flexible cover resting on and sealing a portion of the blockof tobacco, said flexible cover being secured to said probe by aflexible sleeve allowing vertical displacement of said flexible coverwith respect to said probe, a flexible sleeve coupling joining the saidprobe and the air outlet in said chamber, steam and water nozzles in thedischarge outlet from said fan, a temperature sensitive controllerregulating the flow of steam to said steam nozzle, means to control theflow of water to said water nozzle, the steam and water conditioning theair discharged from said air discharge header into said chamber, saidfan on its inlet side setting up a pressure differential between thesaid probe and the said chamber to effect a flow of conditioned air fromthe chamber through the tobacco between the tobacco support means andsaid flexible cover.

3. Apparatus for the conditioning of compressed tobacco comprising aninsulated chamber, means to support a block of compressed tobacco withinsaid chamber, a hollow perforated probe insertable in the block oftobacco, an air discharge header in said chamber, an air outlet fromsaid chamber, a fan connected on its discharge outlet side with saiddischarge header and on its inlet side with said air outlet from thechamber, a flexible cover resting on and sealing a portion of the blockof tobacco, said flexible cover being secured to said probe by aflexible sleeve allowing vertical displacement of said flexible coverwith respect to said probe, at flexible sleeve coupling joining the saidprobe with the air outlet from said chamber, steam and water nozzles inthe discharge outlet from said fan, a temperature sensitive controllerregulating the flow of steam to said steam nozzle, means to control theflow of water to said water nozzle, the steam and water combining tocondition the air discharged from said air discharge header into saidchamber, said fan on its inlet side setting up a pressure diiferentialbetween the said probe and the said chamber to effect a flow ofconditioned air from the chamber through the tobacco between the tobaccosupport means and said flexible cover, and a vent in said chamberkeeping said chamber at atmospheric pressure.

4. Apparatus for the conditioning of compressed tobacco comprising aninsulated chamber, means to support a block of compressed tobacco withinsaid chamber, a hollow perforated probe insertable in the block oftobacco, an air discharge header in said chamber, a water drain pipeleading from said discharge header, an air outlet from said chamber, afan connected on its discharge outlet side with said discharge headerand on its inlet side with said air outlet from the chamber, a flexiblecover resting on and sealing a portion of the block of tobacco, saidflexible cover being secured to said probe by a flexible sleeve allowingvertical displacement of the flexible cover with respect to said probe,a flexible sleeve coupling joining the said probe with the air outletfrom said chamber, steam and water nozzles in the discharge outlet fromsaid fan, a temperature sensitive controller regulating the flow ofsteam to said steam nozzle, means to control the flow of water to saidwater nozzle, the steam and water combining to condition the airdischarged from said air discharge header into said chamber, said fan onits inlet side setting up a pressure differential between the said probeand the said chamber to effect a flow of conditioned air from thechamber through the tobacco between the tobacco support means and saidflexible cover, and a vent in said chamber keeping said chamber atatmospheric pressure.

5. Apparatus for the conditioning of compressed tobacco comprising aninsulated chamber, portable means to carry and support a block ofcompressed tobacco, a

hollow perforated probe insertable in the block of tobacco, a flexiblecover resting on the block of tobacco, said flexible cover being securedto said probe by a flexible sleeve allowing displacement of saidflexible cover with respect to said probe, a fan, air conducting conduitmeans between said fan and said flexible sleeve and hollow probe 7 andbetween said fan and said chamber, means to inject steam and water intothe air being delivered by said fan to condition the air, said fansetting up a pressure differential between said chamber and said hollowprobe to efiect a flow of conditioned air through the tobacco in layersbetween the tobacco support means and the said flexible cover.

6. Apparatus for the conditioning of compressed tobacco comprising aninsulated chamber, portable means to carry and support a block ofcompressed tobacco, a hollow perforated probe insertable in the block oftobacco, a flexible cover resting on the block of tobacco, said flexiblecover being secured to said probe above the tobacco allowingdisplacement of said flexible cover with respect to said probe, a fan,air conducting conduit means between said fan and said flexible sleeve,a flexible coupling joining said conduit means to said flexible sleeve,air conducting conduit means between said fan and said chamber, means toinject steam and water into the air being delivered by said fan tocondition the air, a temperature sensitive controller regulating theflow of injected steam, said fan setting up a pressure differentialbetween said chamber and said hollow probe to efiect a flow ofconditioned air through the tobacco in layers between the tobaccosupport means and the said flexible cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2, 869,556January 20, 1959 Lorne A. RoWell It is hereby certified that errorappears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that thesaid Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the grant, line 1, and in the heading to the printed specification,-line 3, address of patentee, for "Lachline, Quebec, Canada." readLachine, Quebec, Canada Signed and sealed this 30th day of June 1959.

Attest:

KARL H, AXLINE ROBERT C WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

